The Australian Statistician, Dennis Trewin, today officially delivered the nation's first 2001 Census form to a remote pearl farm off the Northern Territory's coast.

Mr Trewin boarded a "flying boat" and winged his way out to the Paspaley Pearl Farm of Port Bremer, about 120km north-east of Darwin. His flight followed the official launch of the 2001 Census Public Awareness Advertising Campaign by the Minister for Financial Services and Regulation, the Hon Joe Hockey, MP, at Darwin's Stokes Hill Wharf.

In a speech to a Northern Territory audience, Minister Hockey encouraged all Australians to get behind the census, due in less than two weeks.

"On Census Night, August 7, we will experience the most wide-ranging collection ever undertaken by the Australian Bureau of Statistics involving contact with each and every household in the nation", the Minister said.

Mr Trewin then delivered the first form to Gise Dau, 67, who has worked for the Paspaley Pearling company for 30 years. Mr Dau does general maintenance work and repairs pearl nets at Port Bremer.

Census Collectors will be delivering census forms and a census guide across the rest of Australia from this Saturday (July 28).